"Full Forfeiture of Unjust Gains" Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, 'LH Act' Submitted

Jin Sun-mi, Chair of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, is adopting the confirmation report for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum amid protests from People Power Party members at the full committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee recently submitted the so-called 'Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Incident Prevention Act' on the 12th in relation to speculation allegations involving employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

On the morning of the same day, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held a plenary meeting and submitted a partial amendment bill to the Special Act on Public Housing, one of the LH Incident Prevention Acts. This bill, primarily proposed by Moon Jin-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stipulates that if information obtained during work is used for purposes other than intended, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for more than one year or a fine of three to five times the amount involved. Currently, the penalty is imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

Additionally, the scope of punishment is expanded to a maximum of life imprisonment, and all illicit gains are to be confiscated. To prevent recurrence, the bill also includes provisions for regular status surveys and occasional inspections.

Representative Moon explained the background of the bill proposal, saying, "Just as the public was outraged after allegations of speculation by LH employees surfaced, I was also angered. It is an antisocial crime for public officials to use internal information for speculation, mocking national policies and deceiving the public. I hope this will serve as an opportunity to resolve public distrust and reestablish ethical awareness."

Other real estate speculation-related countermeasure bills are scheduled to be reviewed collectively at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's Land Law Review Subcommittee on the 16th.

At the plenary meeting, Byun Chang-heum, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We will create the best possible alternatives to alleviate public concerns and ensure that such incidents never happen again. I will take responsibility for restructuring LH and redistributing its roles. If my efforts are not sufficiently recognized, I will not hesitate to resign at any time."